This invention relates in general to casino card games. In particular, this invention relates to a casino card game that allows the casino to maintain a high house advantage while at the same time providing a fast-paced game that gives players the opportunity to wager and profit under a variety of scenarios that are dependent upon the outcome of the dealer""s hand.
Casinos have become extremely popular entertainment alternatives and are becoming more readily available in a variety of locations, including many urban locations. In view of the growing number of available locations, casinos find themselves competing against one another for patrons. One method for casinos to attract patrons is to provide card games that are entertaining and offer the potential for winning large amounts of money in the form of bonus wagering options or jackpot wagering options. However, casinos must also choose games that provide a profitable return for the casino. In any given casino, particularly those casinos where the floor space is statutorily limited by gaming regulation or is physically limited (such as in a riverboat gambling environment), it is desirable that the games that are provided, including casino card games, generate a maximum amount of income for the casino.
There are a number of factors that affect the profitability of a casino game. One factor is the house advantage of a game, which is a measure of the amount of profit that the casino realizes by offering a particular game on its gambling floor. Another factor is the quantity of hands that can be played in a specified time period associated with the game, which is often referred to as the xe2x80x9cactionxe2x80x9d of the game. In some jurisdictions, gaming regulations set maximums on the amounts of the house advantages of the casino games. As a result, casinos find it attractive to offer casino games that have a fast xe2x80x9cactionxe2x80x9d to increase profitability.
In certain types of popular casino card games, such as Blackjack and variations thereof, players compete against a dealer. Casino card games of this type are relatively fast-paced, provide the opportunity for more that one person to win during each hand, and allow bets to be resolved quickly. However, it has been found to be somewhat difficult to modify such games to provide players with desirably high bonus or jackpot opportunities. Consequently, large pay-outs are generally not available in these types of casino card games. In other types of popular casino card games, such as Poker and variations thereof, players compete against one another. Casino card games of this type allow the opportunity for the players to generate large pay-outs. However, it has been found that such casino card games are relatively slow-paced. Variations of Poker, such as Caribbean Stud Poker and Pai Gow Poker, have been developed to incorporate play against the casino dealer, as well as to provide the opportunity for more that one person to win during each hand. However, these variations are generally based on complicated betting and ranking schemes that render such games undesirable for the inexperienced gambler. Thus, it would be desirable to provide an improved casino card game that allows the casino to maintain a high house advantage while at the same time providing a fast-paced game that gives players the opportunity to wager and profit under a variety of scenarios that are dependent upon the outcome of the dealer""s hand.
This invention relates to an improved casino card game that allows the casino to maintain a high house advantage while at the same time providing a fast-paced game that gives players the opportunity to wager and profit under a variety of scenarios that are dependent upon the outcome of the dealer""s hand. Initially, a contract wager and a bonus wager are placed to participate in the card game. A three card player hand is dealt face down to the player, a three card primary dealer hand is dealt face down to the dealer, and a three card dealer secondary hand is dealt face down to the dealer. Then, one of the cards of the primary dealer hand is exposed. The player hand is examined to determine the point total thereof, and an additional wager is placed to continue to participate in the card game. Then, the remaining two cards of the primary dealer hand are exposed, and the point total of the primary dealer hand is determined. If desired, one of the cards in the primary dealer hand may be replaced with one of the cards in the secondary dealer hand if the point total of the primary dealer hand is less than a predetermined minimum amount. Lastly, the contract wager and the additional wager are resolved by comparing the point total of the primary dealer hand to the point total of the player hand, and the bonus wager is resolved by comparing the point total of the player hand with a bonus pay table.
Various objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.